Nobody’s out front! On their porch! Mostly! I ride my bike here in the village, through nearby communities and along my favorite route, Marshland Road. Quite a few houses have porches, but I hardly ever see anyone sitting on them.
Oh sure, there are a few exceptions sprinkled here and there. I almost always see Joe, next to the Parkview Inn, on his porch when I ride by early on Sunday mornings. And, later on I see Kim reading on her Front Street porch, patiently waiting for the day when her house is finally raised above flood level; Nancy is on her Paige Street porch, and a handful of others. But for the most part, people are in the back of their homes when they go outside to relax.
We recently moved to a house with a large, wrap around porch. I’m out there all the time. It’s where I eat breakfast and lunch, read, doze, and people watch. I can see everyone walking and driving by, and they can see me. I’m probably becoming a village legend – that weird guy who’s always out on his porch.
Oh well, I’ve been called worse. But I have to admit; I love it out there. I also get to see a train rumble past a dozen or more times a day. Clang! Clang! Clickety! Clack! It can be mesmerizing. Feeling stressed? Watch a train. Even an electric, scale model train can have the same effect.
I had one on a shelf that went around the office in our old house. I ran it all the time, especially when reading a book in my recliner (with my eyes closed). Now I do the same, but out on the front porch with a full-size train.
I guess I’m just a nosy old coot; who wants to see what’s going on. Out front! Things like: the number of cars that run the red light in front of our house, or turn right on red without stopping, people walking for exercise, going to work, or to shop in the village stores. It’s better than the reality shows on cable TV. Unlike them, it’s real.
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